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lambswool

From Lambs to Lagom: Why wool is everywhere this Spring

March 16, 2018 Tags: , , , , , , , No Comments

There are few more happy-making things than seeing new lambs frolicking in their fields. As Spring approaches we take a celebratory look at why wool is everywhere this season, from lambs to lagom.

lambswool spring

Lambswool

Fluffy white lambs are one of the traditional Eastertime symbols, adorning cards and merchandising everywhere. We love their carefree tumbling and their gangly legs, and they represent rebirth and renewal as the seasons turn. While these new additions won’t be shorn in their first year, their fleeces will be perfect for shearing next year. This will produce the supersoft lambswool so beloved by fashion and home textile makers. The older sheep will be shorn shortly after the lambing season is over, ready for the warmer weather. This wool will then be sorted, washed, picked and combed in preparation for dyeing. The lifecycle of your wool throw or cosy sweater begins with these little bundles of fun gambolling around the countryside.

Lagom

Replacing ‘hygge‘ as the new Scandi-inspired trend, ‘lagom’ offers more than a moment of comfort or happiness. The concept of lagom comes from Sweden and is a longer-term idea of finding balance and peace by just having enough. Translated it means ‘just the right amount’. To live with lagom means to avoid excessive consumerism, to create a balance between work and personal time, to be moderate and frugal. It has inspired people to live more sustainably, choosing clothes and homewares that have a reduced impact on the environment. Like natural wool. Living more sustainably means buying good quality items that will have a long lifetime, things that are produced with are as free from harm as possible. Wool is a durable, long-lasting material, and means that those investment pieces, like wool picnic blankets or baby throws, will keep on looking beautiful for years. There’s a simplicity to wool that chimes perfectly with the idea of lagom. Just right.

pure wool throw

Lightweight wool

As the weather warms up you may not need your really chunky knitwear but there is still a place for woollies. Spring can bring sudden changes in temperature, with snowfall and frosts still a possibility. The answer here is to wear layers and to include lightweight wool garments made from merino wool. This is less bulky whilst retaining all the benefits of wool: temperature regulation, moisture wicking, durable, dirt-repellant. You can get highly sophisticated sportswear ‘skins’ made from merino wool to wear as a base layer, or opt for a simple transitional piece like a merino sweater paired with a linen shirt or bigger cardigan if it’s chilly.

Lazy evenings

Despite the fact that the evenings are lighter for longer, there is still something delicious about curling up indoors under a warm, soft wool throw after a long day. Whether you love to read or catch up with the latest Instagram stories, creating a moment of stillness and cosiness in the evening is great for your wellbeing. It’s not quite warm enough to sit outside in the evenings where we are, but it won’t be long. And you can be sure we’ll have blankets, hot drinks and food at the ready.

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Introducing Wool Types (6): Lambs Wool

February 24, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Lambswool is wool which comes from the first shearing of a sheep (lamb) at the age around 7 months. The fleece is 50mm or shorter. It is exceptionally soft, slippery, resilient, elastic, and has supreme spinning properties. This is the highest quality of sheep’s wool on the market.

Lambswool

Its soft silkiness and warmth allow lambswool fiber to be used in the production of apparel worn close to the skin. Lambs wool also has other valuable qualities – it is the most hypoallergenic of all wool sorts and resists dust mites very well, and therefore makes an ideal choice for bedding and linens. Most of woolen children wear is made of lambs wool.

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